Who were those green-clad men?

The Gotham Green came out with all guns blazing as a flea-flicker, solid running game and swarming defense helped build a 10-0 advantage and Leon Washington's 33-yard punt return in overtime positioned Mike Nugent to nail his fourth field goal of the day as the Jets surprised the Steelers 19-16 at the Meadowlands.

The victory snaps a six-game skid for the Men in Green and has me feeling giddy beyond words.  But that won't stop me from trying to formulate my emotions. 

REASONS TO GET UP ON MONDAY:

Green Hell.  The bye week certainly worked wonders for the Jets defense.  The Green and White held Steelers running back Willie Parker to only 52 yards on 21 carries (2.5 average) and displayed their best pass rush of the season by far, registering 7 sacks against Ben Roethlisberger.  Actually the Jets could have finished with 10 or more sacks, but Big Ben proved quite wily.  Much maligned nose tackle Dewayne Robertson picked up 2.5 sacks on the day and Shaun Ellis looked like a rookie as he continually wrecked havoc on the Pittsburgh offensive line.  The eight-year veteran notched 2 sacks, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.  Safety Kerry Rhodes made an nifty interception that led to 3 points in the second quarter and linebacker David Harris continued to impress with 11 tackles and a sack.  Where has this defense been all season?

Smash-mouth football.  Thomas Jones ripped off an 11-yard run on the Jets first offensive play and set the tone for the rest of the game.  TJ rushed 30 times for 117 yards and became the first running back in 32 games to crack the century mark against the Black and Gold.  Jones broke a ton of tackles on the afternoon and ran angry against the number 1 defense in the league.  The only downside for Jones was that he failed to score a touchdown (again) and has yet to taste the end zone this season.

The "rookie."  The final numbers weren't pretty (14 out of 31 for 162 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT), but Kellen Clemens won his first game as a starter on Sunday.  His 56-yard strike to Laveranues Coles off a flea-flicker put the Jets on the Steelers 1 and on 2nd-and-goal he flipped a touchdown pass to tight end Chris Baker for a quick 7-0 lead.  KC struggled after the fast start, but with 2:23 left in the game and the Jets down 16-13, the second-year quarterback led the Jets on a 13-play, 76-yard drive that ended in the game-tying field goal.  The key play in that series was a 15-yard scramble on a 2nd-and-10 that gave the Jets a first down at the Pittsburgh 30-yard line.  Clemens still has a tendency to hold the ball too long and sometimes fires into tight coverage, but crunch time doesn't seem to affect him.  In fact, he seems right at home when the chips are down.  That's a good sign.

Kickin back.  Mike Nugent has missed some big field goals this season (which may sound absurd since the Jets entered the game at 1-8), but he was money on Sunday.  His longest boot traveled only 38 yards (the game-winner), but it was a windy, wet day at the Meadowlands and that joint can make any kick difficult.  Nugent finished 4 for 4 on the day.

Mr. Washington.  The Steelers kept the ball out of Leon Washington's hands by popping up their kickoffs to the Jets upmen, but they couldn't keep the dynamic Washington down all game.  Leon's 33-yard punt return in overtime gave the Jets excellent field position on the Pittsburgh 26-yard line.  Three running plays later and the Jets had their second win of the season. 

REASONS TO SLEEP IN ON MONDAY:

Playing from ahead.  Once again the Jets raced out to a double-digit lead and once again they allowed the opposing team to battle back and take the advantage.  This was the fourth time this season the Jets have done this and it almost came back to bite them again.  The Jets plays hard, but they have to learn how to finish and deliver the death blow that makes teams roll over and die.

Butter fingers.  Kellen Clemens and the Jets were hurt by drops in their last game against the Redskins and it may have cost them a win.  It almost happened again against the Steelers.  Wide receiver Brad Smith dropped what could have been a game-winning touchdown with 37 seconds left in regulation.  It wasn't an easy catch, but it was a grab that had to be made.  Clemens has made three starts this season and he's had receivers drop big passes in every single game.  Somebody get these guys some stickem.  

One and done.  Laveranues Coles caught a 56-yard bomb that set up the Jets first score, but he injured his ankle and didn't catch a pass the rest of the way.  Hopefully Coles will be back for the Turkey Day game against the Cowboys.

Pittsburgh or New Jersey?  I wasn't at the game on Sunday, but it looked and sounded like the Jets were the visiting team.  I understand the Steeler fans travel well and the Jets entered the game at 1-8, but come on Jet fans.  If you're going to sell your tickets, try and give them to Jet boosters.

It's only one win, but I'm going to really savor this one.  The Jets showed me that their fighting spirit is still alive and that they aren't going to go gently into that good night.

And at this point, that's all I ask.